Year of Records - Over 7,60,000 Indians Studied Abroad in 2024
A total of 760,073 Indian students applied to study overseas in pursuit of globally-ranked degree courses and career opportunities. This number has slipped a little since the peak in 2023, but it reflects India’s increasing ambition and the fact that it is casting a wider global education eye.
Five-Year Trends: A Remarkable Rise
The number of Indian students abroad has surged since 2020, dipping slightly in 2024. Here’s the data, according to figures reported by the Bureau of Immigration (BoI) and supplied by Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar in the Lok Sabha:
With 2.6 lakh students in 2020 (affected by the pandemic) and a peak of 8.95 lakh in 2023, the trend reflects an increasing appetite among Indian professionals for global education. The Congress party’s own explanation for the 2024 dip is that mobility will have been squeezed out by visa restrictions in countries such as Canada or the UK.
Regional Leaders: Where Are Students From?
It’s also Indian students from all over the country who are leading this global fight, and some places are particularly exemplary:
- Chandigarh Leads in Per Capita: In the five years between 2016 and 2021, more than 10,000 student visas were issued per lakh residents — close to one in 10 people going abroad to study.
- - Other High-Ratio Regions:
* Punjab: 869 student visas per lakh * Delhi: 851 per lakh
* Andhra Pradesh: 524 per lakh
* Kerala: 331 per lakh
Smaller regions like Chandigarh and Punjab exhibit much ambition with international education, while large states such as Andhra Pradesh contribute the most numbers.
Government Support Systems: Easing the Path Abroad
The Indian government is encouraging Indian students studying abroad in multiple ways:
- MRQs: Faculty in India are regaining their right to be recognized abroad the understanding of Indian degrees elsewhere is made easier.
- Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreements: Simplify student visas and migration.
- Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF): Assistance on means means-tested basis for meeting contingency expenditure (including legal expenditure, Boarding & lodging expenses, etc.) for the Indian nationals who are under TAD condition.
- MADAD Portal: For registering with Indian Missions for speedy resolution of grievances.
Register in the MADAD portal before you leave to be able to stay in touch with Indian Missions for assistance!
Why More of India’s Students Are Heading Overseas
The increase in education abroad is no coincidence. Affordable student loans, scholarships in foreign universities and relaxed Visa rules are driving even bright students to hunt outside India. Countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom remain in demand. Moreover, countries such as Germany, Ireland and New Zealand are also in demand for the reasonable cost of education and post-study opportunities.
Your Study Abroad Roadmap
The growing number of outbound Indian students considering global education in 2024, the prospects are enormous – yet there are evident challenges such as inflation in costs (for eg: upward of 75% MBBS fee hike in Odisha), visa challenges and the like which need to be addressed for appropriate future planning. And if you are planning an MBBS in Nepal in any of the 29 NMC-approved colleges or even a finance degree abroad with scholarships (such as those offered by Raman Kant Munjal), you need to be well-guided!
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